Chapter 1: What does it mean that I was reborn as the wrong person?

“Ugh—mm, mm.”

For some reason,

Qianyu, who usually slept soundly from midnight to dawn, suddenly jolted awake.

She wanted to know the exact time.

Influenced by habits from her days on Earth,

she instinctively reached out, groping around the pillow.

She meant to find her phone or a digital watch.

Snap.

Her palm struck something, producing a crisp sound like hitting a balloon.

She reflexively kneaded it a bit, feeling an incredibly smooth and tender texture.

If she had to compare it, it was like milk pudding—

cool and silky, making her reluctant to let go, urging her to keep touching.

Was it a butt? Or a chest? Two possibilities flashed in Qianyu’s mind.

“Ahh, haa, haa…”

As she savored the softness, a young girl’s faint panting reached her ears.

Mixed with humid, languid breaths and a sweet, honey-like scent flooding her senses.

Judging by the sounds, it was unlikely to be a butt.

Eliminating one option left the correct answer, but another question surfaced.

‘Why is my hand touching that?’

Realizing something was off,

Qianyu, still groggy with lead-heavy eyelids, snapped fully awake.

She hurriedly withdrew her reluctant hand.

Opening her eyes, she found herself in pitch-black darkness, unable to see her own fingers.

In the dimness, someone seemed to be sleeping beside her.

“How… how did it turn out like this again?”

Bewildered by the sudden situation,

she grumbled softly, already used to such oddities.

“Including today, this is… the fourth time, right?”

She began recalling similar past incidents.

Confirming the number she blurted out was correct, exceeding the “third time’s the charm” limit.

Driven by curiosity and a sense of responsibility,

Qianyu cautiously rose from the bed, layered with soft, dry straw.

She took care not to wake the person sleeping beside her, whose identity remained unknown.

“Sigh… so, who is it today?”

She exhaled lightly, her breath brushing her slender fingertips,

conjuring a faint glow from magical candlelight.

Finally, in the hazy, warm mist,

she glimpsed the flushed, delicate face of a girl still deep in slumber:

Soft, waist-length lavender hair, reminiscent of pansies, scattered freely around her. Neat bangs parted evenly to the sides. Long, delicate eyelashes framed clear, cloud-like eyes, with a teardrop mole beneath her left eye.

Her refined features, likely inherited from her parents, exuded an air of untouchable nobility. A slightly upturned nose and a gently rounded face, paired with cherry-pink lips.

Was she dreaming of something pleasant?

Even in sleep, she wore a captivating smile.

“Gulp, it’s Leila.”

Confirming the girl’s identity, Qianyu nervously swallowed.

She softly called her name,

but received only calm breathing and faint, sleepy hums in response.

To an outsider,

Leila would undoubtedly seem like a gentle, cheerful lady.

If only she could maintain that obedient demeanor when awake—

Qianyu made a wish she knew was impossible.

“Hey, ho.”

Qianyu slowly shifted her body,

navigating around the bedsheet, inexplicably damp with fresh stains and tangled with stray hairs.

She had no memory of what happened here.

She grabbed the cotton blanket, crumpled like dough and tossed aside,

and draped it over Leila, who wore only her undergarments, to prevent her from catching a cold that might affect their upcoming tasks.

After ensuring no one was around,

and that no one would see her leaving Leila’s room,

Qianyu hurriedly returned to her own tent nearby in a few quick strides.

Just as she lay down, hoping to catch a quick nap,

she tossed and turned, belatedly realizing she’d forgotten something important.

“Damn, I should’ve given her a good grope before coming back.”

Without proper “side dishes,” she couldn’t muster the energy to satisfy herself and had to accept her bad luck.

Tormented by heightened emotions and desires, she endured the long second half of the night.

My name is Qianyu—Qian from Qianyu, Yu from Qianyu.

I was once just an ordinary, unremarkable male college student in my hometown.

Yet, one day, I experienced a miracle found only in novels, comics, and games:

Transmigration.

Not only that, I gained a new body that retained my old name—

a female one.

To survive in this perilous,

medieval, sword-and-magic fantasy world, far less safe than the modern era,

I, now reborn as a girl, naturally joined a renowned adventuring party composed entirely of women.

I had hoped to support one another and forge cherished friendships with them.

But strange things kept happening around me.

For instance, every midnight, I’d inexplicably wake up in a teammate’s bed—

like just now,

in a state of heightened emotions, with my consciousness and lower body feeling sticky and aroused.

The result was predictable.

“Ah, it’s already morning.”

A ray of bright sunlight filtered through the woven hemp tent, spreading gentle warmth.

Qianyu, sleepless all night, lay in an odd position with her head near the ground,

sporting increasingly heavy dark circles, reluctantly opening her eyes.

Outside, the crisp chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves in the breeze, and the gentle flow of a nearby stream filled the air.

The natural symphony, usually soothing,

felt unbearably grating under the weight of her exhaustion.

This was the toll of sleep deprivation, worsened by her lack of chance to nap.

“Morning! Good morning, Captain Lily!”

“Mm, morning, Suwa! You’ve already washed up, looking fresh?”

“Yes! I woke up early today, before the sun even rose.”

“Good, good. Keep it up, and you’ll become an outstanding adventurer.”

“Understood!”

The lively chatter, greetings, and sounds of teammates washing up and packing echoed around.

Judging by their cheerful energy,

they must have rested well last night—how enviable.

‘I bet someone will come to drag me out of bed soon.’

As Qianyu predicted, before she could adjust her posture and stand,

an uninvited guest appeared at the tent’s glowing entrance.

“Qianyu, the captain sent me to—”

Cascading azure hair, smooth as orchids, neatly draped down her back. Prominent, pointed elf ears and refined features too exquisite for words. Bright, clear eyes with a peculiar symbol gazed at her.

She was a key member of the team,

a forest elf girl named Patridel, who lifted the tent flap and spoke.

“…Your sleeping positions get weirder every day.”

“Morning, Del.”

Qianyu raised her voice, trying to sound lively and cheerful.

“Hmph. You’re so lifeless in the morning. Are you secretly a bat beastman?”

Her fatigue and exhaustion were impossible to hide.

Del ignored the greeting, speaking coldly on her own terms.

“Well, hard to say?”

“Whatever, I don’t have time to dig into your origins.

No one’s waiting around for you. Hurry up, wash, and let’s move.”

Though not the captain, she urged Qianyu with a commanding tone,

then ended the conversation abruptly, turning to leave without a glance back.

This dismissive attitude was a familiar routine for Qianyu.

It sounded like a sad story,

but the sadder truth was that this was her reality.

“No way, this level of hardship won’t break me.”

Feeling increasingly dejected, Qianyu stood, tidied her clothes,

equipped her shoulder bag and sword, and slapped her cheeks to motivate herself.

“I came here to become a top-tier adventurer.

If I give up now, the rest of my life in this world will be spent farming or herding cows.”

Reinvigorated, she

stepped toward a new day and a bright future.

But she hadn’t gone far from her tent

when her eyes locked with someone lounging lazily in the shade nearby.

“Yo~ Finally awake, team parasite? I almost forgot about you.”

“Good thing these bags don’t sprout legs and walk off, huh? Pfft, hahahahaha!”

She covered her mouth, feigning restraint but laughing mockingly without care.

If Del’s indifference was an appetizer, this one was the main course.

Whenever Qianyu entered her line of sight, venomous words followed.

Her arrogant expression twisted her otherwise refined, elegant features.

Such a waste of a beautiful face.

“Leila.”

“What’s with that look—trying to teach me a lesson?”

A flash of surprise and menace crossed her face, but her smile never faded.

“…Morning.”

Qianyu forced the greeting through gritted teeth.

“Pfft, knew it. Hurry up and wash, I’m not waiting for you.”

Seemingly bored with bullying her,

Leila waved dismissively with a sneer, signaling Qianyu to get lost.

“Okay, got it.”

With no choice, Qianyu left dejectedly.

Her calm exterior hid inner sorrow and frustration at her own powerlessness.

‘Damn it, aaargh!’

I should’ve squeezed her chest hard last night—

It seems Qianyu’s future is far more treacherous than she imagined.